


JealousWolf Derek Hale

by DudeItsBaconHills (orphan_account)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Allison Argent, Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Alpha Derek Hale, Angst, Blink and you'll miss it, Derek Has Issues, Derek cannot handle stiles flirting with someone else, Jealous Derek, M/M, MERMAID STILES, Magic, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Merman Stiles, Oblivious Derek, Oblivious Stiles, Pack Feels, Protective Derek, Protective Pack, Some Fluff, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Has Panic Attacks, Wolf Derek, envious Derek, i dont know what this was, merperson Stiles, possesive behavior, stiles is flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-26 06:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3841135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/DudeItsBaconHills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I... don't know.</p><p>If you didn't notice bc it was subtle: </p><p>Taldia is a combination of Talia and Claudia, so.... Yeah. Think about that ;)</p></blockquote>





	JealousWolf Derek Hale

Stiles panted heavily, fumbling around for his phone. He breathed in relief when he saw it turn on – it hadn’t been damaged. He quickly slid it unlocked, finding his favorites and then punching down on Scott’s phone. 

“Hey,” Scott’s cheerful voice greeted. 

“Scott!” he yelled when it stopped ringing, “I need your help, I’m –“

“—This is Scott’s voicemail, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”

Stiles’ eyes widened, he tried again, but no answer. “Oh my god, oh my god, _someone please pick up_!”

He was too adrenaline rushed to rethink calling Derek. It was an emergency, okay? And the supernatural crowd had to stick together, so of course he would have Derek’s number programmed in his phone. 

“What?” Derek said sharply as he answered. Stiles wanted to cry in relief.

“Derek! Its Stiles, and I need help,” he nearly sobbed. 

“Stiles? What’s going on?” He barely noticed the change in Derek’s voice, like he realized Stiles wasn’t the one to piss in his cheerios or something.

“I… I don’t know. I’m at a beach… I think it might be Blackwater or the one across from it – I don’t know!”

He heard some shuffling from the other end, like Derek was sleeping and then woke up from his call – what time was it? Stiles breathed heavily, panic ridden. “Stay calm, Stiles. I’ll find you. Just, stay on the phone, okay?”

Stiles, if he wasn’t fearing for his life, would’ve been suspicious about Derek’s soft, comforting words. A noise to his left made him gasp, “Der…ek… I think there’s someone here. On the beach. No, a lake, I’m at a lake,” he corrected, his hands shook around the phone. There weren’t waves, and the water was relatively still. “Please find me,” he whimpered, before ending the call, throwing his phone further up on the beach, so the tide wouldn’t get it when it came up. Did lakes have tides? Who knew? Maybe it’d be of use to him again.

He snapped his head to the right, where he could make out a figure in the fog. Stiles desperately tried to move, but from his hips down, he was lacking mobility – like his legs were tied together. He couldn’t move off his stomach to look at them, and he panicked. What if someone had tied him down on the shore to die? 

He wiggled and wormed and flopped, but there was no change – his arms did little to move his heavy body. The figure came closer, and he reached for a shell, clutching the mildly sharp thing seashell that probably wouldn’t do that much damage, no matter how skilled the person. 

Fingers white, he clutched his makeshift weapon, ready to attack whatever the hell was coming to kill him. 

“Hello?” the shadow said as it came into view. It was a person. A man. Stiles shook with both fear, relief, and anxiety. 

“Help,” he croaked, “Please help me.”

“Oh my god!” the mystery man said, clearly surprised. He dropped to his knees quickly, his eyes quickly searching over Stiles’ body. Before Stiles knew what was happening, he was being flipped onto his back, the man gasping. 

Stiles craned his head to look, sitting up on his elbows. 

He almost passed out.

Because he had a tail. 

And Stiles was a fish. 

He looked in alarm to the stranger, before starting to break into a panic attack. His breaths became shallow and then _he couldn’t breathe_. He began hyperventilating, panic engulfing him into a painful state. 

The man suddenly grabbed Stiles by the armpits, and dragged him backwards. Stiles tried to scream, but no sound escaped him. Nothing. Not even when his legs (?) painfully dragged across the sand and he thought he might die.

. . .

A few minutes later, he awoke in the lap of the stranger, panicked and frightened. 

“Hey,” the stranger said calmly, “It’s okay, it’s okay, calm down,” he said soothingly, and Stiles did a little. 

His eyes bulged when he realized that he was laying down in the water, the man sitting on the sandy bottom, the water up to his chest. The man stroked his face gently, forcing Stiles to look at him. 

He was surprisingly attractive – not that Stiles would’ve had the time to see that earlier. His dark hair was in a somewhat quiff, a little messy, probably from dragging Stiles into the water. The stranger’s eyes were a light blue Stiles couldn’t stop looking at. He had a jaw line and cheek bones to die for – god, was everyone in this god damned town attractive? Stiles found himself wanting to pet his stubble, but resisted, because he didn’t want to scare him away. 

Even though he could get away with his excuse being deliria. 

“You… You’re not going to kill me?” was the first thing Stiles said. Charming.

“Wha – “ the man looked like he might get arrested for just saying the word, “Why would I kill you?”

Stiles let out a distressed laugh, “Because –“ he stared at his legs, which were conjoined with strange, green material that looked slimy to the touch, and some scales down the sides. It was like Ariel’s tail, in more detail. He almost started going off about how all supernatural creatures were at a war or something before he stopped – this could very well be a human. He snapped his mouth shut.

“Thank you,” he whispered instead. The stranger nodded, his eyebrows drawn together in concern. “I… I don’t know what happened,” Stiles felt the need to explain. “I didn’t mean to…”

“To get beached?” the man supplied, an eyebrow raised and Stiles wanted to thank the guy for lightening the tone. 

He chuckled. “No,” then a wistful sigh. “I’m not… This. I don’t know how it happened, I was playing with some spells and then all of a sudden I wake up-“he stopped quickly, horror written along his features. “Nothing! I mean- no. Not magic. Definitely not mythical elements made up to coax small children into an unconscious state! No. Um, please just, uh, forget you ever saw my face, please,” Stiles hastily retreated, worming his way out of the man’s arms, and trying to doggy paddle away. Maybe there was nowhere to go, but he’d just revealed his secret to this stranger, and _god, could he get any stupider_?

“Wait!” the man said, grabbing Stiles’ arm, “What if, what if I don’t want to forget your face?” he said softly. Stiles gaped stupidly, and the man smiled. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone. About any of this. You’re safe here.”

He bashfully looked up at him through his eyelashes, so unlike his usual behavior. “Okay,” he whispered back. 

“Okay,” the man said, more firm. “I’m Sean.”

“Stiles.”

Sean didn’t even raise an eyebrow at his name. Stiles could possibly be in love. 

. . .

Sean helped Stiles trying to learn how to swim with the heavy tail. They both laughed when he accidentally splashed himself and Sean with it. He glanced up adoringly at Sean when he praised him. 

“You’re doing great,” he smiled, “See? Don’t worry.”

Stiles knew he wasn’t really doing that great, but he appreciated the enthusiasm. 

“Hey, this might be offensive, but can you breathe underwater?” Sean teased and Stiles rolled his eyes, but dunked his head underwater. It felt cooler than the land, and he _loved_ it. He closed his eyes to rest a little, relishing the soft sway of the tiny waves in the lake, when he was jerked up. 

Sean’s concerned, panicked face hovered in front of his. “Stiles!”

He snapped his eyes open, “Sean? What’s wrong?”

“You were under there for, like, two and a half minutes, and I was worried. You weren’t moving.”

“I don’t know if I can breathe underwater, but I can definitely hold my breath longer,” Stiles said. Sean nodded hesitantly. 

“Just… Be careful.”

Stiles laughed, bringing a hand out of the water to punch his shoulder playfully, before gasping. He had greenish _claws_ instead of fingertips, and his fingers were almost webbed together. Not touching – about half an inch apart, but green webby material conjoined them. 

Sean took it in his hand, his eyebrows furrowing. He looked intrigued. Suddenly, Stiles felt shy, and pulled it back slowly, pushing it into the water. Sean gave him a weird look, and Stiles blushed and looked away. 

“Do you want to try moving again?”

He did.

 

. . .

God only knew how long it was later – the sun had come out a little more, behind the clouds, brightening the water some.

He was partially in Sean’s lap, his tail resting just below the surface as he let the human touch his tail, because, hey, it did look cool. “It’s so smooth,” Sean noted, sounding surprisingly content. Stiles snorted, his tail flicking a little. 

Sean slowly made his way down Stiles’ tail/legs, like it his personal mission to touch every square inch of him. His tail twitched when Sean ran his hands up and down, in a rubbing motion that felt sort of like a massage. Stiles let out a small ‘mm’, his tail pushing itself towards Sean’s hand. They both laughed, Stiles’ face heating up, because, weird. If it was awkward for Sean, he didn’t make it obvious, though. It didn’t even freak the guy out that Stiles had suddenly just turned into a mermaid. Obvious cylinder-like shapes were being held together by green _whatever the hell_ that _was_ , little creases and lines in the middle (and slightly lower than the sides) were an obvious give away something fishy was happening. 

“Oh,” Stiles said when Sean’s hands moved all the way downwards, towards the little lacey, almost clear part of his tail on the tip of it. Sean raised an eyebrow, his thumb and middle finger tracing it again when Stiles giggled, his tail flicking again. “S- Sean!” he barely managed through his laughs. 

Sean grinned clearly amused with Stiles’ ticklish part. 

“S- Stop!” Stiles screeched, trying to stifle his laughter and squirm out of Sean’s hold. He hadn’t remembered feeling this…carefree… in a long, long time. Stiles shrieked and gasped as Sean relentlessly tickled him. God, it’d been years since he was tickled last. Something about being touched uncomfortably and then forced to laugh was great to Stiles. He loudly struggled against him, though he never wanted it to stop. Even if he died of asphyxiation. 

“Stop!” someone yelled, making them both startle, and turn backwards to the shore. Stiles panicked – someone was here. Another human? What if they found out about his tail?! Would he be taken to get experimented on?  
The worries vanished when he saw it was just his friends charging towards them. Scott, Kira, Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Allison, Liam, and Derek.

Before he had a chance to say anything back, Sean was being yanked out of the lake, by a very, very angry Alpha. 

“Derek!” Stiles yelled as Derek growled into his face, eyes red and fangs extracted. Stiles didn’t think he could ever forget the look of fear on Sean’s face. He struggled as quickly as he could to Derek, who was ankle deep. “Derek! Stop!”

Derek spared a glance at Stiles, red eyed. “He’s human! Let him go.”

Derek reluctantly dropped Sean’s shirt, and he fell backwards onto the sand. 

“Who is that, Stiles? What happened? What’s going on?” Scott inquired through his lisp. The fangs did have that effect.

Stiles began worming onto the sand pitifully, a lot like Ariel, to get to Sean, “Sean, are you okay?” he said to the shaken human. He nodded, but then snapped out of his trance.

“What are you doing? You can’t be out here,” Sean frowned, scooping Stiles up bridal style, and freezing when Allison drew back her bow, and noticed the whole pack crouching defensively, the wolves growling and snarling. Stiles tensed, his arms locking around Sean’s neck. 

“Okay, Allison, no,” Stiles said warily. “Everyone please, just calm down –“

Sean nervously entered the water backwards, slowly sinking down to place Stiles in the water. Stiles breathed in relief, not feeling as weak. Maybe he really did need water to survive. 

Sean quickly removed himself from Stiles, putting his hands up in the air innocently. 

Scott plunged into the water on his knees, an arm going around Stiles, “What’s happening, Stiles?”

“I… I did a spell wrong, and I woke up with this monstrosity on the beach. I tried to call you, Scott, but your phone went to voicemail,” he noticed the guilty look on Scott’s face, “So then I called Derek, _a few hours ago_ ,” he glared, “Where were you? If it wasn’t for Sean, I’d probably be dead right now.”

Derek seemed to seethe as he neared them, “You gave me next to no description! A beach or lake? We live in California, Stiles.”

“You couldn’t have followed my scent?”

“There was none,” Liam spoke up, frowning. 

“The magic,” both Stiles and Derek said at the same time with a defeated sigh. Stiles bit his lip when he looked at Sean again, who was nothing short of terrified. 

Stiles reached to grab his hand with his own monstrous one, under the water comfortingly. 

“Well how do you reverse the spell,” Derek impatiently quizzed, crossing his arms. 

“I need my spell book,” sighed Stiles. “I don’t know where it is. My phone came with me, but not the book. It might still be in my room, but I… Don’t know. I need you guys to find it.”

They all looked hesitant.

“What?”

They shared looks again and Stiles huffed, “What? Do you know something?”

“No,” Erica said, stepping forwards and crouching down, apparently not caring that water was soaking her tight jeans. “We heard you _screaming_ ,” she gave her death glare to Sean. 

Stiles blushed, realizing they heard him laughing because Sean was tickling him, “I’m fine, I swear. Please just get the stupid book already.”

“Oh?” Erica smirked, her head tilting. “Was it that _pleasure_ that made you scream like that, then?”

It took him a minute, but he splashed her face, hissing, “Shut your damn mouth, Erica! And who talks like that? You're such a weirdo.” He turned to the rest of the group, “Please find my book. It might’ve gotten lost on the way here, if it’s not at home. And I am _not_ going to live as a fish, alright?”

Liam, Allison, Kira, Boyd, and Isaac already turned around to go back to their cars. Good friends. However, Derek and Erica didn’t look like they were planning on moving anytime soon. 

“Derek, Erica? We need you to help us look for it. The faster we get it, the faster Stiles can turn back.”

“I’m not leaving him here,” Derek said with finality. 

“ _Derek_ , do you realize what it’ll mean if we can’t find the book? Come on, we need you. You’re the one with the best scenting abilities, most of us can’t do it. Please.”

“We can’t leave him here, Scott,” argued Derek. 

“Why? I’ll be fine,” Stiles rolled his eyes, “Besides, I have Sean, whom you owe an apology, Big Bad.”

Derek looked livid.

“You can search around these woods, with Erica. It might’ve come with him this far,” Scott said gently, and - did Stiles miss something? Was that sympathy in Scott's voice? Empathy? What the hell? 

He gruffly nodded, giving him and Sean one last look before turning around and storming towards the forest. Why did everyone hate Sean? Was he, like, a supernatural creature and no one was telling him? This needed to stop. Erica gave him a smug as fuck look before trotting after him. Scott rubbed his arm soothingly, mumbling a ‘we’ll find it’, before running into the forest after the rest of the pack. 

“It’s okay,” he said gently to Sean, “They won’t hurt you. Don't let my asshole friends freak you out,” he said louder than usual so that his werewolf friends might hear him.

“He’s,” Sean cleared his throat, though his voice was small, “He seems pretty angry.”

“Derek? He’s just mad because I woke him up too early,” Stiles laughed half-heartedly. “But, uh, you’re not going to leave me, are you? I can’t lose my Knight in Shining Armor just yet.”

Sean actually laughed, “No. Not yet. This feels like a really bad retelling of The Little Mermaid.”

Stiles chuckled too, “Minus the fact that I don’t have a seashell bra and I’m starting to feel a little like Frankenstein,” he sighed, raising his mutation of a hand. 

“I think you mean Frankenstein’s monster,” Sean corrected quietly, giving him a smalls mile.

Stiles gaped, looking up at him, “Oh my god! I said Frankenstein because most people don’t know the difference, because they’re silly plebes who don’t understand… God, I think I’m in love you,” he laughed, completely overjoyed, because he’d found someone that was at least a little bit nerdy. 

He didn’t have any more time to fangirl over him, because suddenly a tree snapped, and fell in almost slow motion. A loud voice yelled “TIMBER!”

Erica. 

His eyebrows furrowed, jaw ajar. “What the hell?” he said rhetorically. Sean shared a look with Stiles. "You guys had better not be breaking down trees instead of finding my book!"

“What _are_ your friends?”

Stiles looked at him for a second, unsure of whether he should tell their secret. Yeah, okay, Sean had already seen them in the half shift, and knew about Stiles’ magic… “It’s a long story,” he said instead, a sigh following. “I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of this, Sean.”

Sean just chuckled, “Much more interesting than my everyday life.”

“Ah, yes, because being a male model is just _so hard_ ,” Stiles mocked, voice coated in sarcasm. Sean splashed him, making Stiles laugh. 

“Hey, you’ve had pizza in the last twenty four hours,” Sean argued teasingly, “I haven’t had pizza in four and half months.”

Stiles stiffened, then lowly and horrified: “what?”

Sean nodded, and Stiles flailed. “But are your washboard abs _really_ worth it?” Stiles narrowed his eyes, pulling at Sean’s already floating shirt. Sean rolled his eyes. 

“No. I hate this stupid fucking organic diet,” hissed Sean. “I bet you have all the junk food you want, don’t you, lucky shit?”

“My diet can be described as an unattended child at a birthday party,” he smirked. 

Sean let out a groan, “God, I want pizza and wings so badly right now.”

“Celebrities; they’re just like us!” Stiles faux mused, grinning. Sean actually blushed a little, and Stiles would definitely have to research him when he got home. He was surprised to not have seen him before. Not that Stiles looked up male models in his spare time! He didn’t! Seriously, why would he need to? He had a bunch of werewolves around him – and, wow, okay that was not what he meant. Just…

“So, uh, do you think I can eat, like, raw fish now?” Stiles switched the subject quickly. Sean gave him a weird look, before it vanished, like it made sense and he cringed a little, hoping he wouldn’t actually have to eat raw fish. 

“Maybe that’s what your claws are for,” Sean said helpfully, taking Stiles’ hand out of the water and holding it in his own. His thumb stroked the tip of Stiles’ pointer finger claw. He pressed the wrong way and pricked his finger. Sean jerked back a little, looking in surprise at the drop of blood that surfaced. Stiles gulped.

“Yeah… I, uh, maybe I should go look for a fish or… Something,” he mumbled quickly, flustered. He plunged under the surface and started to fan his tail, desperate to get away from Sean. His heart was quick, and he struggled a little, trying to calm himself.  
He barely noticed he was at the bottom of the lake until his tail brushed the sand and he jumped a little, before breathing out in relief. And then he realized, he took in a breath, and his eyes widened. He prepared for choking and coughing. Instead, he was… fine. Like he was breathing underwater! It was incredible. Stiles grinned in amazement, looking at the water surrounding him. 

A few stray fish swam by every couple seconds, and then a small school. Stiles marveled at a few he hadn’t ever seen before, and were surprisingly cool and luminous. He gingerly touched one as it went past, the creature speeding up at his touch, frightened. He smiled to himself. 

 

The sun peeked through the clouds again – because it was an indecisive little shit – and Stiles relished in the brighter waters, laying down on the sandy bottom and finding peace in his setting. A little green shimmering caught his attention, and he gaped when he recognized what it was, pushing forward to it. Seaglass! His mother and him used to look on the beach for it – they’d had a large collection of it, and finally turned it into stepping stones for the backyard, that still stood to this day. He nostalgically clutched the piece of green sea glass, before noticing –

A sea glass jackpot. There was every color! Green, white, red, _purple!_. He would have to come back with a little bag or something. He grabbed a single piece of white sea glass, clutching it in his hand to take to the surface. 

His eyes bulged and jaw dropped when he saw the _cutest fucking fish_ he’d ever seen in his entire life hover around him, like it was curious. It was like a little alien – a happy little alien that SMILED, and had awesome, soft looking spikes sticking out of its head like a komodo dragon, fish style. Or a lizard! His four legs with honest to god _fingers_ and little torso made him the coolest thing Stiles had ever seen. 

He stuck out his palm carefully, not wanting to scare it away. It jumped back, startled, but slowly came back when it realized Stiles wasn’t his predator. Maybe he was supposed to be, but no way was Stiles going to eat this thing. She, or he, rest its little sticky fingers on Stiles’ palm. The pink fish gecko didn’t seem to make motions of leaving, so Stiles carried on swimming, smiling dumbly.

A little bit of seaweed floundered on the bottom, and Stiles grinned as he picked a long strip of it, holding it in the same hand as the sea glass. He didn’t know if it was edible, but whatever. 

 

He returned to the surface god knows how much later. His head broke the surface with a little ‘plop’. He observed Sean resting on the beach, his ankles touching the water but nothing else. 

“You’re back,” Sean breathed in relief. “Good. I thought I’d have to get worried pretty soon. What’d you find out?”

Stiles smiled a little, “I found the coolest fucking fish in the world, that’s what. Look at this little thing,” he gestured, placing his palm just below the surface, since the creature probably couldn’t breathe out of water. 

Sean gaped, “Oh, wow, that’s an axolotl. These things are pretty rare, especially in the wild. They glow in the dark, too.”

Stiles was speechless for a minute, but then grinned. “You’re a celebrity, a model, you’re nice, _and smart_ , oh my god. I didn’t think one person could be everything,” he grinned. “What’s the catch, Sean? Wait – let me guess. You’re an axe murderer and you target adorable, magically challenged teenagers?”

Sean froze, wide eyed. “I have to kill you now - Now that you know my secret. That’s a shame.”

Stiles laughed, “So we’ll add acting to the list of improvements. I got you some food, because you can’t hunt yourself,” Stiles said, bringing out the nasty, soaked, dark leaf of seaweed, and then adding, “And you’re weak and natural selection is coming for you.”

Sean took the seaweed in his hands, his smile falling off his face after a minute, and his eyes wide and horrified. 

“It… Was a joke, you know, since you don’t eat, like, anything, being a model and all.... Sorry, I didn’t think you’d get offended – “ Stiles awkwardly back peddled, hoping he hadn’t just destroyed their relationship. But, after all, if he didn’t have a sense of humor, was he worth it? Okay, fine, yes, he was, because Stiles could compensate for his lack of humour but-

“No – Stiles, you beautiful idiot, this is… This is poisonous. I can’t remember the name, but I read an article about it being toxic –“ he dropped the plant, grabbing Stiles’ shoulders tightly. “Have you eaten this? Stiles, have you eaten this seaweed?!”

With wide eyes, he shook his head, and Sean drooped in relief, closing his eyes. He mumbled a ‘thank god’. 

“Oh my god,” Stiles whispered, “I almost just poisoned you!”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you didn’t eat it,” Sean said, because he was apparently the perfect human being and not even a little mad. It wasn’t right! Stiles deserved to be scolded, and called an idiot and maybe slammed against a door or something, but Sean just looked relived- and …

Stiles backed away hastily, wide eyed and a few feet away, into the water. 

“I could’ve killed you,” he whispered, horrified at himself. And when he pricked Sean, and his blood was there and smelled - No. He pushed the thought away. He could’ve just killed this amazing human being, and he didn’t know if he could live with himself if he did. If Sean hadn’t read that article... 

“Stiles –“

“I – I’m going to hurt you, I can’t be around you. I need to…” he sunk underwater, his tail moving faster than it ever had before.

 

. . .

 

Stiles stayed at the bottom of the lake for a while, just thinking to his little axolotl. He named her Talida. He didn’t know where the hell that name came from, but it was there and he had no other suggestions, so Talida it was.

He thought about what would happen if they never found his spellbook – would he have to live the rest of his days as a fish? Or a mermaid? What would he do about school, or who would make sure his dad ate right? Who would be the pack’s spark? God only knows how they’d hold together without him. 

At one point, he rubbed a hand (?) over the back of his neck and gasped; there were gills! Gills!

He shot up towards the surface, Taldia grabbing at the ticklish bottom of his tail. He was surprised to find Erica and Derek sitting on the sand. He was tempted to turn back down and hide forever, but he already had their eyes. 

He sheepishly swam up until his front was touching the sand, and his backside was exposed to the cool air.

“There you are,” sighed Erica, then she glared, “We’ve been waiting like two hours, you know? Not cool, dude.”

“Are you okay?” Derek asked instead, face worried.

Stiles nodded, but before he could say anything else, Erica was crouching down, touching his neck. “What’s that? Did you just get those?”

“I just… Felt them and then came up. I didn’t notice until a couple minutes ago,” Stiles said with a sigh. “Where’s Sean?” he then looked at Derek sharply, “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”

“No,” Derek answered back sharply, his jaw grinding, “No, I didn’t. He left by choice.”

Stiles shouldn’t have felt as hurt as he did, but he understood. His shoulders might've sagged a little, but Sean didn’t deserve to be mixed up in this, and Stiles’ life was chaotic. Sean was basically a celebrity. Their worlds just didn’t mix well. It was okay. It was.

“How’s,” Stiles cleared his throat, “How’s the searching going?”

“We found your shirt, and this,” he held up Stiles’ bracelet. It was thick and a pale pink that reminded him of Taldia’s color. There was a roughly done paw print on it in black, and it was frayed at the ends and worn, but Stiles loved it. He grinned upon seeing it, mood brightening a little. 

“ _You found it,_ ” he mused, though he hadn’t realized he lost it, he was glad to have found it again. 

The bracelet was something that held one of the best inside jokes and memories of their existences. Stiles had found some string in his room and started playing with it, accidentally making a pretty cool bracelet. So, he sought out more, and started to work on cooler, intentional patterns. It took him a couple weeks, but he finally managed to make a hot pink bracelet with a baseball bat and wand in black string embroidered into it, and another hot pink bracelet with a black paw print, with a tiny ‘s.w’ beneath it. 

“For Sour Wolf,” Stiles had explained to Derek, grinning. Derek had death glared him, narrowing his eyes.

He had forced the one with Stiles’ signature objects, the bat and wand (which, okay, no, but there wasn’t really a better way to portray magic) onto Derek in front of the pack, that had laughed, while Derek snarled and growled at it, looking at it like it were a leech. When he tried to take it off, and discovered he couldn’t, he freaked the fuck out.

“I magicked it on there, bud. It’s not coming off anytime soon” Stiles had grinned, patting him on the shoulder twice before removing his hand quickly, because he was a little worried for himself. Derek still had teeth.

The pack had laughed even harder, even Boyd. They were all doubled over a few minutes later, because Derek really did look ridiculous, and it was just… A great moment. The first time they’d been joyous since the whole possession thing. 

And the best part?

Stiles had taken the compelling magic off the bracelet the day after putting it on. 

They were all just seeing how long Derek would wear it. He acted unhappy about it, whenever someone mentioned it, but they all _knew_ he ‘secretly’ loved his bracelet. 

.

He snapped back into reality, he reached his hand across to the take bracelet, before snatching it back, eyes wide and focused on the water. He felt Erica and Derek exchange a look. “Stiles?”

“What? Nothing. Just, uh, keep it until I get changed back. I probably shouldn’t get it wet anyways.”

“It’s waterproof,” Derek argued, an eyebrow raised when Stiles’ brow crinkled, “You forced it on me. Did you think I wouldn’t shower because of a bracelet?”

Stiles shrugged, fighting off his smile. Had Derek not even tried to take it off after the first day?

“Stiles, why are you being so weird?” Erica’s head tilted.

“It’s nothing,” Stiles said quickly. 

Erica glared, then shot her hand into the water with her werewolf speed and held out his wrist before he could protest. He watched as her jaw dropped a little, eyes wide. “Wow,” she breathed. Erica touched the webbing between his fingers curiously, making him squirm. “This is awesome, dude. You were going to hide these? What’s wrong with you?”

“They’re creepy!” huffed Stiles, “And slimy and _deformed_ and weird. And dangerous, probably.”

“We’re werewolves, Stiles,” she deadpanned. “Werewolves. You think some mermaid shit is going to send us running for the hills?”

Stiles blushed stupidly. She was right.  
“I just don’t want to hurt you.”

Erica laughed, rolling her eyes. “Honey.”

“Whatever.”

…

“You guys can go home,” Stiles said, feeling guilty.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Erica said through a yawn. “Gotta protect the little mermaid.”

Stiles crossed his arms. “I’m not little," he pettily argued, "and I don’t need protecting. And I’m starting to consider pronouns, so little mer _person_ or mer _man_ , thank you. Now will you please go so I can mourn the loss of my potential husband and figure out where my junk went? And also I haven’t peed in like a really long time. Is that bad?”

Derek’s glare caught his eyes, “No.”

“Seriously, go home. Sleep. I’ll be fine, I promise,” he whined. “I feel like a shit friend. Come on, Tiredwolf. Go. I’ll be fine.”

He _swore_ Derek smiled at least a little bit, but it was gone before he could even blink. 

“I’m not going to leave you. Erica, you can sleep here or in the car, but you’re too tired to drive.”

Erica blinked sleepily, and petted Stiles' head, “I’ll sleep in the car to give you two some privacy,” she winked before sashaying away. 

Stiles blinked, clueless, after her, “What?”

Derek growled a little in her direction, “nothing,” he said shortly. 

“Wolves are weird,” Stiles yawned. “Damn it, Erica gave me the yawns. They’re contagious. Are you tired? You must be. Probably had a long day knocking down trees n' shit.”

Derek shrugged. 

“Hm.” His eyes fluttered closed a little. They popped back open after a minute. 

“What?” Derek asked. 

“Nothing,” Stiles replied with a sigh. “It’s just freezing in here. Which is weird. I mean, since mermaids – merpeople - are like reptiles, and they’re cold blooded, don’t you think I should able to withstand this? Wait, am I reptile? What _is_ a mermaid? Have we established as to what I am? Am I supernatural? Does that mean I’m not human, then? But if I’m not human I can’t break the mountain ash! Oh my god what if I’m not human anymore. Do you think this just means I’m temporarily not human, or will I be, like, forever changed after this? Can mermaidness stay in my blood? What if it’s like mono or something? Magic is strange. I don’t know. Ugh, it’s cold. Anyways, so what’s your opinion on the whole shindig –“

“Oh, for the love of,” Derek growled, slipping into the water and pulling Stiles to his chest as he leaned back onto a flattish rock.

“Whoa,” Stiles squeaked. “Um, Derek?”

“You want to be warm, don’t you?”

Stiles was speechless against his chest. He thought he’d be freaking the fuck out, but he just felt… Calm. Like it was natural. And Derek was surprisingly comfortable for someone with rock hard abs and everything. His eyes closed as he snuggled instinctively in Derek’s chest. 

“Thanks… Sweetwolf,” Stiles sleepily said after a minute of silence and deciding to speak up. Derek grunted. Stiles chuckled a little. “Sorry for being a burden, Derek. I know you must hate me by now,” he whispered, barely awake, and not sure if this was a dream or not. 

He swore he heard Derek scoff before muttering a reply, but the words were just noises that didn’t make sense anymore at this point. And then he was asleep.

And that was the best sleep he’d had in months.

. . .  
He awoke with his bracelet tied onto his wrist, and still in Derek’s lap. And Derek holding him in a bridal position, with an arm under his tail. He jolted a little, but relaxed after remembering everything. He blinked, rubbing his eyes carefully with the claws.

Stiles couldn’t help the little smile on his face. Derek had literally snuggled with him. He’d never live this down. 

He stretched without waking Derek up, then slowly moved his tail off Derek’s body, turning around to dive into the now warm water. The bottom was cooler, he found. Except there was a face right in front of his. 

And then Stiles screamed. 

“ _Oh,_ my god,” he breathed. “You scared the fuck out of me.”

Derek jolted awake at Stiles’ yelp, eyes wide and claws extracted. They retracted when he saw it was just his pack, sitting around them amusedly. 

“Well look who decided to wake up,” Erica grinned. “That was cute, guys,” she said patronizingly. “When did it become official?”

Derek growled at her, making her smirk but shut up. Stiles barely seemed to hear her, because Scott was squeezing the life out of him. 

“Oh thank god. They wouldn’t let me wake you guys up, but we were so worried, man.”

“Thanks, Scotty. I’m fine. Have you, um, found the book?”

“Yeah. Deaton helped us do a locator spell. It was… In the Hale House,” Scott said awkwardly. “Do you know why it was sent there?”

“No,” Stiles said honestly, though he felt anxiety and embarrassment creeping in his chest, “But I have a feeling Deaton does?”

“Yeah. He wouldn’t tell us, but he wants to talk to you after you’re… Human again.”

Stiles nodded, sighing, “Bring me the book.”

Stiles kissed Taldia goodbye with a wistful smile, ignoring the looks of everyone else, and dove to the bottom of the lake one last time to breathe underwater (because cool) before transforming himself back to human. 

He awoke clothed with the same ones he wore on the day he wore when he first performed the spell that went wrong. No doubt, Scott had taken one for the team and dressed him. 

Probably. Oh, god, he hated to think of any alternatives. 

“Stiles?”

“Derek? Where am I?”

“You’re in your bed. We took you home after you changed back. How do you feel?”

“Salty,” he groaned, “Ew. I smell like dirty lake water.” He grunted, sitting up. “Magic is cruel,” he whined as his head throbbed and vision clouded with stars. “I totally need to shower,” he murmured when the stars faded. He pushed off the bed, ready to walk to the bathroom, but his legs weren’t sturdy, like, at all. He sucked in a breath as he fell forwards, preparing for a faceplant. Which didn’t come. Derek’s arms shot out and grabbed him, pulling him back on the bed. “Thanks,” he breathed. 

“You shouldn’t get up yet.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

…

 

Derek helped Stiles wobble to the bathroom and forced him into a bath – Stiles keeping his boxers on, because, uh, no. Derek tried to stay in the bathroom to help him, but Stiles threatened to rip his throat out with his (now non-existent) claws.

Derek reluctantly exited, but told him to call if he needed anything. 

“Where’s Scott?” Stiles called louder than usual so Derek could hear through the door. 

“He, uh,” Derek cleared his throat, “I told him I’d watch you until –“

“Watch me?” Stiles cut in sharply. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m fine. Seriously, please, you can go home now.”

“I’m not going to leave you, Stiles.”

“Derek,” Stiles dragged out his name.

“You can complain all you want, but I’m not leaving until you know how to walk again.”

Stiles huffed, but continued soaping himself up with werewolf friendly products (Scott had made him replace all his deodorants, shampoos, etc. in the first month of him being a werewolf ) for hypersensitive senses sake. 

“Okay,” he sighed, “I’m done.”

Derek opened the door, helping Stiles sit up and get toweled off, then walked him to his bed.  
…  
“I hate to say it, but a tail totally triumphs legs. God – was it always this hard to walk?”

Derek was totally patient and amazing and Stiles, for the life of him, couldn’t figure it out. He didn’t snap on him or yell when Stiles’ legs just didn’t want to work correctly. Stiles was clutching Derek’s bicep, which was a step further than leaning most of his weight on him, so, progress.

“Okay, I’m going to let you go now. Walk to me.”

“I am not a toddler, Derek,” Stiles rolled his eyes, but breathed in deeply to prepare himself. Stiles stuck his tongue out, trying to concentrate on his movements. He stared down at the floor, willing himself with everything he had. His wobbly leg stepped out and he quickly moved the left one, shifting his weight too quickly and then falling into Derek’s space.

Derek, being the agile werewolf he is, caught him easily. He steadily supported the human’s weight. They sort of just stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds too long, Derek clutching Stiles’ elbows with his hands, keeping him standing. Before he knew what was happening, Derek was leaning in and Stiles was too and 

_they were kissing_.

It was long, sweet – everything and more that Stiles hoped it would be. 

And the best part?

No one was apologetic or regretful at all. 

“You totally like me,” Stiles teased, sing-songing a second after pulling away, a little shock – drunk. 

Derek just rolled his eyes like the good sport he is and agreed, “Yes, I totally like you.”

“You want to grow old with me and live in a gross suburban neighborhood with white picket fences,” Stiles grinned up at him. 

“Yes,” Derek looked at the ceiling for a second, “I want to grow old with you and live in a gross suburban neighborhood with white picket fences.”

“And you want my babies,” Stiles grinned again. 

“Yes, I want your – wait, what?”

“I’m just saying, I know a few spells that could probably –“

Derek made the smart decision of shutting Stiles up, by distracting him. If that involved kissing, well… Details, details. 

 

 **Epilogue** (sort of)

Stiles was more than confused when his dad barges in and sees his kissing Derek and says: “ _finally_!” And Stiles looks like a deer caught in the headlights, because, uh, hello, he’s kissing Derek Hale. 

The one that was a suspect for Laura’s murder…? The one his dad hated- or used to? 

And then Erica has basically an identical reaction, so Stiles bursts out, “Oh my god! Did everyone know I liked him?” while throwing his hands up in a very ‘im done’ way. 

Erica looked gob smacked. “What? No, I was talking about how Derek crushed on you, for like, the longest time.”

Stiles gaped, “What?!”

“Yeah. He totally flipped out when you called him in a panic at four in the morning.”

Stiles’ eyes widened, and cheeks heated, “Oh.”He frowned, "So it took him, me getting turned into a sea creature for him to admit it?"

Erica smirked, “Yeah. I thought it was strange, too. Then again, _I_ used to have the biggest crush on you, too.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes, though he couldn’t keep a smile back for long. “Yeah but then _Isaac_ came along,” he said his name with a swoon and invisible heart eyes, clasping his hands together by his face. 

Erica glared, shoving him. 

“Yeah, I know,” he said triumphantly. “I’m so observant, Erica. Nothing gets past this guy.”He pointed to himself with his thumbs, smirking.

“Really?” she challenged. “Then I’m assuming you already know about the Sean thing, right?”

Stiles’ brow furrowed, and he suddenly became intrigued, “What? No, what is it? Did you find something about him? Is he an alien? Or a fairy? A vampire! Oh my god, you found out he’s an alien, didn’t you?”

“No,” Erica looked at him like he was an idiot, “Stupid.” Whoop, there it is. “I was talking about how you never found it strange that Derek was about to shit a brick then? Even when you told us he was a human?”

“Well… No. To be honest, I don’t know why any of you were so angry at Sean. He was just being a Good Samaritan to a fellow citizen in need. And charming the fuck out of me.” Erica gives him a minute. “OH my god! That’s why?! Because Derek was fucking envious?” Erica smirks amusedly, like this whole thing gives her pleasure to watch. “Wait… He made everyone act like that towards Sean?”

Erica sighed, “Well… Not exactly. We ship you guys pretty hard. And he's our Alpha, we want him to be happy," she mumbled, crossing her arms and glaring like just saying the words were making her nauseas, "And we heard you screaming, Stiles. What were we supposed to think?”

“He was just –“ _tickling my fucking tail_. “never mind. But, uh, what did happen to him? Where’d he go?”

“Uh,” Erica scratched her head. Lying. “I don’t know.”

“B.S.”

Erica rolled her lips together pensively, “You know Derek got so angry he knocked down a tree, right?”

“That’s what that was?”

“Yeah. What a loser. Anyways, what I’m trying to say, is, that wouldn’t have ended well. If he bulldozed a tree over just hearing you guys flirting… I thought it would be best for your _knight in shining armor, male model,_ , to leave. Didn’t want him dying, you know?”

Stiles felt a lot. Surprised, frustrated, guilty, and even a little anger before it disappeared into a sigh. “I understand, actually. I sort of wanted to eat him, and not in the sexy way.”

Erica cringed in disgust, but then forgot about a second after, “Wait, like, eat, eat him? As in consume his flesh?”

Stiles nodded guiltily, “It crossed my mind a few times. I was so paranoid that I’d hurt him. After all, I almost killed him with that fucking seaweed.”

Erica snorted. 

“Whatever, though. I hope he finds someone, I really do.” Stiles said honestly. It couldn’t be him, and that was okay. Stiles wasn’t really a ‘if I can’t have you, no one can’ person. He hoped for the best of Sean. Yeah, it sucked to let the good ones go, but Stiles didn’t regret his decision. Derek meant a lot more to him.

“So what made you choose Derek over Sean? We heard you gushing – to his face – about how amazing he was and the full package and what not,” Erica said, examining her nails. Stiles cringes momentarily, because he so wouldn’t have said all those things if he knew Erica and Derek could hear him from that far. Privacy? Werewolves have apparently never heard of it.

“Well,” Stiles glared at her, because this was starting to feel like an interrogation, “I already told you I liked Derek before the mermaid thing. I’m not going to tell you anymore because I know you’re going to make fun of me for being a sap. Whatever.”

Erica hummed, like she was still processing it all. 

“But I will tell you, Derek’s stubble game totally beats anyone elses’. Okay. Now I’m done.”

 

Stiles doesn’t know what to think about Derek’s jealousy/envy. 

He can understand why he felt threatened by Sean, sure. But it was Derek! Derek totally-out-of-everyone’s-league Hale. So why he wants Stiles always came as a little shock, even when it was one a.m and Derek’s arm was holding Stiles to his chest. He was pretty sure everything was in reverse.

He twists and touches Derek’s bracelet with a finger, until he slowly drifts back to sleep. When he wakes up, Derek is already awake and staring at him. Stiles chooses to find it endearing instead of creepy. The two were easily mixed. 

“Hey,” he mumbles, rubbing his eyes. “Wha’ time’s it?”

“Nine.”

Stiles nods, though it takes a few seconds for him to even process the word. “Oh damn, I’m going to be late for school!” he panics, sitting up straight and shooting his hands out to magic some clothes on. 

Derek quickly grabs them stopping his magic, “No. No magic until you see Deaton, and it’s Saturday.”

Stiles laughs a little, breathing out in relief. “Oh thank god. I would’ve been mad at you for not waking me up.”

“You’re still going to see him today though, right?”

Stiles nods with a not so stifled groan. “It’s gonna be awful!” he whines, “Derek, he’s going to lecture me and give me all these cryptic looks!”

Derek just rolls his eyes. On his way out of the house, Derek pecks him on the lips, just because, and Stiles’ jaw dropped. “You’re so _domestic_ , oh my god! What is this? No. You are an alpha werewolf and I’m a wizard, Harry. Our relationship should not be this domestic.”

“You’re not a wiz –“

“SILENCE, heathen. Now give me a real god damn kiss,” Stiles demands. Derek did, making Stiles grin and pat him on the shoulder. “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ bout. Adios, muchacho!”

Derek looks like he's still trying to figure Stiles out before nodding, making to jump out of Stiles’ window, because, yes, front doors were overrated. Stiles is tempted to build a slide out of his window but he figured that’d make it too obvious. As much as his dad ‘shipped it’, he would not be happy to find out they’ve been sleeping together (in the non sexual way) recently. 

Apparently, Derek was very concerned with the legal age of consent. Stiles didn’t push it. Not with everything after Kate. 

 

***

Stiles takes in a deep breath and braces himself. As much as Deaton is a help, he's kind of a pain in the ass. Too much knowing smirks and shit. 

“Dr. Dee, your favorite wizard ever is here!”

Deaton looks unamused at Stiles before breaking the mountain ash line with the little door that fell at knee level. “Come in.”

“Alright, Doc, let’s skip the small talk, shall we? Scott said you wanted to talk to me about that last spell gone awry.”

“Ah, yes. Well firstly I have to ask about your medical status – is everything alright? Are you feeling normal?”

“I’m fine,” he says. Not completely honest, but he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of nothing. “Sort of wanted to eat a human at one point, but I didn’t, so I’m okay.”

Deaton makes an interested noise, “And I’m assuming that urge has passed?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

Deaton gives him a calculating look, “Alright. Then we can move onto the next question. Do you know why your book landed at the Hale house?”

“Um, no,” Stiles lies, scratching his neck that is probably turning fifty shades of red.

“Hm.”

Another one of those god-awful looks. “Okay!” he hisses, “fine. I was thinking about my stupid fucking crush, is that what you wanted to hear?”

Deaton looks amused again, “Yes.”

Stiles glares at him. 

“Stiles, the reason your spell went wrong is because your mind was clouded. I’ve told you many times about clearing your mind before practicing. It can be very dangerous otherwise, as you’ve experienced. You could have died or been turned into something worse than a siren and never been found. You're lucky you had your mobile device to contact anyone. Is this clear?”

“Crystal,” Stiles mumbles.

“And is it true you’re romantically involved with him?”

“Derek? Yeah,” Stiles blushes awkwardly. 

“Hm.”

“Okay, you clearly want to say something, just do it,” Stiles huffs.

“You need to take precautionary measures, especially with a werewolf when you’re physically engaging and having –“

“Oh my god, no! No! Stop. You do not get to have the sex talk with me! I’m seventeen for the love of god. This can wait!” he covers his ears childishly. Deaton raises an eyebrow, but didn’t look any happier about talking about the _bees and other bees_. That was assuming the bees were the guys, right? It makes sense sort of. Or _birds and other birds_. Whatever.

“Okay. When you turn eighteen then.”

“What? Why are you so horrible to me?!”

Deaton rolls his eyes, “I told this to Scott, too. It’s important for you to know, and I doubt Derek will tell you this. Werewolf anatomy is different than human, and –“

Stiles bolts out of there. 

. . .

“Hey,” Stiles says, smiling at Derek. 

Derek looks up from his book. "Hey." His response is stoic. Stiles frowns, about to question it when Derek thrusts something into his hand. He glances at the crumpled piece of paper in surprise, an eyebrow raised. 

"What's this?"

Derek goes back to his book, the same stoic expression on his features, "A note."

"Okay, smartass," Stiles narrows his eyes. "From who?"

"Why don't you read it and find out," Derek says, and Stiles can't understand why he's so upset about this. He sighs, carefully unfolding the note. 

It's messy, like it was written quickly. 

_Hey, Styles,_

_I'm sorry I couldn't stay. It seemed like you were in good care with your friends, though. I'll explain everything, just shoot me a text or give me a call! I'd love to take you on a real date. With cooked fish and slightly less poisonous seaweed.  
<3 Sean_

His number was attached at the bottom, and Stiles smiled a little, chuckling at the spelling of his name. 

He glanced up, taking note of Derek's knuckles turning white against the book, even though his face seemed passive, if you could overlook the stoney. 

"Why'd you give me this?" Stiles asks, head tilted a little. 

Derek's eyebrows furrow, "Why wouldn't I?"

Stiles blinks a little, surprised. "No reason. Thank you," he grins, unable to stop the goofy smile on his face. 

"Are you going to call him?" Derek grits out, and Stiles can tell he doesn't want to say that at all. 

Stiles bursts out laughing. "You think I'm going to _call_ him?" Derek shrugs. "Come here, JealousWolf. I'm not going to hookup with Sean." Stiles ends up in Derek's lap, grinning into his shirt. Derek is *subtly* sniffing and rubbing in his neck. "He aint got nothin' on your facial fur."

Derek growls and Stiles laughs.

"But seriously, Derek," Stiles pulls back a few minutes later, "I'm not going to persue Sean. He was nice and a great guy, but he's not a super hot, grumpy, werewolf named Derek, and he never will be," Stiles says, then pauses. "Unless he changes his name to Derek and gets the bite. So until then you have nothing to worry about."

Derek narrows his eyes. "What I'm trying to say, SkepticalWolf, is that you're my number one, no matter what. I've lov - _liked_ you forever," Stiles promises, blushing. He picks up the crumpled note, and rips it into shreds to prove it. "I'm yours, for as long as you'll have me," he mumbles, then gently presses his lips to Derek's to prove it again. 

" _My_ wizard."

Stiles grins, a warm feeling in his stomach, "Yeah." _Your wizard_.

**Author's Note:**

> I... don't know.
> 
> If you didn't notice bc it was subtle: 
> 
> Taldia is a combination of Talia and Claudia, so.... Yeah. Think about that ;)


End file.
